UC San Diego Health is back on the prestigious U.S. News and World Report honor roll, landing among the top 20 health systems in the nation after dropping off the list last year. The ranking, published Tuesday, evaluates 4,494 medical centers across 14 specialties and 23 procedures and conditions, from cancer care to stroke treatment. Only the 20 hospitals with the highest combined scores earn a place on what the publication calls its “best of the best” list.
For the 2026-2027 edition, UCSD Health stood out in the San Diego market with eight nationally ranked programs and 22 high-performing procedures. The university system, which operates hospitals in La Jolla, Hillcrest, and the college area, was the first adult medical provider in the county to make the honor roll back in 2023 and repeated the feat in 2024 before slipping off in 2025. Its strongest showings this year include seventh nationally in pulmonology and lung surgery, eighth in obstetrics and gynecology, and fifteenth in both cardiology and geriatrics.
Dr. Catheryn Yashar, the health system’s chief medical officer, said the return to the honor roll reflects a sustained focus on reducing risk across every layer of patient care. She pointed to seemingly small details, like removing catheters and intravenous lines as soon as they are no longer needed, as well as broader efforts like making sure patients can get follow-up appointments quickly after leaving the hospital. Those steps help drive down readmission rates and infection risks, both of which factor heavily into the rankings.
Yashar was quick to credit more than just physicians for the achievement, noting that nurses, pharmacists, care managers, environmental services workers, and nutrition staff all play essential roles in delivering better outcomes. People tend to focus on doctors, she said, but the results come from everyone working together to keep patients safe and supported throughout their stay and beyond.
Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla and Scripps Green Hospital were the only other San Diego County facilities with nationally ranked specialties this year, with three each. Nationally, UCSD joins institutions such as Cedars-Sinai, Stanford Health Care, UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center, Mayo Clinic campuses in multiple states, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and others on this year’s twenty-member honor roll.
